Dozens of trainers have spent thousands of hours teaching hundreds of University business administrators and office managers how to use the new FinMIS financial-management system, which includes new general-ledger, purchasing, accounts-payable and salary-management components. So on July 1, when FinMIS goes from the rehearsals into the live performances, everyone will know his or her part and execute it flawlessly, right?
Of course not.
FinMIS represents a significant redesign in the way Penn manages its financial and purchasing activities. And with changes this sweeping taking place all at once, there will certainly be users who come down with acute cases of performance anxiety.
Not to worry. The people who have brought users this far in such a short time are not about to leave them stranded once they're on stage.
"[Implementing FinMIS] is a large, complex change, and we're asking users to absorb a great deal of information in a short period of time," Associate Comptroller Kenneth Campbell explained. So once FinMIS goes live, the goal of the trainers and those who support them will be to ensure that University business is conducted with ever-increasing efficiency.
"It's a little like going to the dentist--there may be some short-term pain for long-term gain," Campbell said.
Because the system will eliminate or dramatically change long-established practices both in central offices and individual departments, schools and administrative units have advised people to expect some difficulties in the first few months as everyone becomes comfortable with the new procedures. Saul Katzman, executive director of administrative and financial services in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), said, "Our department chairs know that in July and August, there may be delays getting some transactions through, but they will get through."
The best way for users to become comfortable with the new procedures, of course, is to practice them continually. For that reason, a practice database for trained staff to use will remain accessible after the actual FinMIS database goes on-line; the practice database will be available until the fall. Users may obtain a log-on ID to access the practice database and use real-life examples to get a feel for how to process transactions on the new system.
But for many, using practice examples is just not the same as entering actual transactions. That's why the SAS training facility at 3440 Market St. will be kept open through August--so users can work their way through the rough spots in a place where they can receive hands-on support.
Once FinMIS goes live, Katzman explained, "the training will take the form of workshops for people who need help with specific problems. The participants will use the production database and enter their own transactions" during these sessions.
For some users, the greatest hurdle may result from resistance to change. Amy Bosio, assistant comptroller for accounting in the comptroller's office, said that "one reason people may have difficulty adjusting to FinMIS is that people are used to doing a process in a certain way. The challenge here will be figuring out how to adapt to new procedures designed to improve efficiency."
To help with that adjustment, trainers will have access to a hot line so they can get answers to questions about using the system. During June, questions will be answered no later than the next business day.
The trainers, in turn, will be the first resource for users who need questions answered. In many administrative units, though, they will not be the only resource. For example, SAS has thus far relied on peer training, led by four business administrators: Sophie Luzecky in the dean's office, Lorene Eighme in the biology department, Audrey Masciocchi in physics, and Janet Conway in economics. Once FinMIS goes live, these four will be augmented by additional school staff who can answer users' questions. The school has also established a distributed e-mail list (sas-finmis) to provide user-to-user support, and Katzman said that the school will also engage in "partnering," whereby larger departments will assist smaller ones with problems using FinMIS.
The whole goal of the support system SAS has put in place to accompany the roll-out of FinMIS is to encourage continuous feedback from users. It also encourages users, trainers and administrators to discuss how the system works and how it can be enhanced. "We're trying to avoid bringing people to lots of meetings," Katzman said, adding, "We're trying to keep everyone's attention focused on where we want to be a year or two from now, as the system continues to improve."
Users and trainers in need of assistance can also consult the Cornerstone home page on the Penn Web (http://www.umis.upenn.edu/cornerstone/) for up-to-date information about FinMIS functions and policy changes resulting from the new system.
Even with all this available support and information, however, some problems are bound to occur as FinMIS users climb the learning curve: Some transactions may be incorrectly entered, policies misunderstood, and so on. Again, this is no cause for alarm. As Campbell put it: "Our expectation is that proficiency will come from practice. Over the next several months, the initial anxieties of most staff should be gone." Or, as Katzman said, "We need to take this seriously, but we shouldn't lose our sense of humor about it."
Return to Compass Features for June 18, 1996